Yudepi
Yudepi is the digital local currency of Omura, a city in Nagasaki, Japan. Residents charge yen into the app from a bank account or a Seven Bank ATM and pay by QR code at member shops, where one yudepi equals one yen. Connect, a company owned by the city, the chamber of commerce, local banks and local firms, runs it. It launched in March 2024 and reached about 19,000 users, one in five residents, and around 340 shops within a year and a half. Point campaigns tie it to city programs, from living-cost support to walking rewards.
A well-run municipal prepaid currency with unusually deep penetration for its size: one in five Omura residents within eighteen months. Structurally it stays a yen voucher on a closed platform, so it sits on the standard Japanese municipal prepaid vector with mid-band traction.
M69 Score
Scored against the Money2069 Manifesto — see methodology. Higher = more aligned.
Detailed Rating Breakdown
Issuance Model3x2.0
Units exist only when residents charge yen 1:1; issuance is fiat conversion plus subsidized point bonuses, not debt-free creation from economic activity. Supply contracts on spending, but the mechanism is a prepaid voucher.
Spending Power Stability2x2.0
Pegged 1:1 to the yen, so it imports yen inflation wholesale; no independent stability mechanism, and campaign points are discretionary city subsidy.
Fiat Independence & Interoperability2x1.0
Fully fiat-denominated and fiat-backed; charging runs through a regional bank and ATM rails; the unit of account is the yen.
Traction2x3.0
About 19,000 users, one in five residents, and ~340 shops as of August 2025, eighteen months after the March 2024 launch; city news feed shows campaigns and merchant updates into July 2026. Band 10K-100K users, 100-1,000 shops.
Sovereignty1.0
Closed municipal loop on a proprietary platform run by a city-led company; custodial balances, city can end the program unilaterally.
Governance2.0
Run by Connect, a public-private company of city, chamber, banks and firms; decisions are published as city notices but users have no formal voice.
Resilience2.0
Depends on one operator, one app and continued city campaign budgets; the multi-stakeholder company spreads operational load but is no independent fallback.
Inclusivity3.0
Open to any resident with a smartphone at no cost; ATM charging widens access beyond bank-account holders; excludes those without smartphones.